People's livelihoods first

The new budget report that the ongoing session of the 11th National People's Congress (NPC) reviews will be a milestone on the country's path of substantially improving people's living standards.

After more than three decades of robust economic growth, it is high time for policymakers to focus on addressing the issues that are now the people's top concerns.

According to the Ministry of Finance, China's fiscal expenditure will reach 10.02 trillion yuan ($1.53 trillion) this year. That is not only an increase of 11.9 percent on the previous year, it is also the country's first annual budget to exceed 10 trillion yuan.